A Warm November Day

Today is a dreary, cold, wet November day.

Less than a week ago the sun was shining and the weather was warm.

You've heard the saying, "Make hay while the sun shines"?

Well, we should also make memories while the sun shines.

The kids had been using their spare time to build a dam.

Even my oldest really gets into this and it's fun to watch them work together.

On this reasonably warm winter day, the kids grabbed their kayacks and had a great time.

I grabbed my camera.

As the day grew late, it begin to feel more like November.

 

We all came in and drank hot chocolate.

The End

Our lives so often have dreary parts (and we should especially remember to be thankful during those times), but there are also times just to bask in the sunshine.

Sharpen Up or Flip Out

        For the past few weeks, my husband’s back has been disagreeable. He has been in much pain and walking causes him much more pain. Stairs are very painful so we put our extra bed downstairs for him.

        Anyway, last night I drove him up to the school to prepare for at least a couple more days of having a substitute. He is really concerned about those kids “getting behind.” While we were there, Brian put us to work on pencils. He handed me a whole box of (mostly sharpened, in my humble opinion) pencils to be sharpened and laid in the box all facing the same way. I mean, what good teacher could let a first grader waste time on a substitute day sharpening a pencil? And they must all face the same way because . . . you don’t want a first grader poked with a pencil first thing in the morning. According to Brian, it makes them cry and that’s not how anyone wants to start his day. Samuel helped with this. New pencils first got pre-sharpened in the old pencil sharpener before being re-sharpened in the new pencil sharpener.

        Then, we added erasers to the eraser bin by taking a utility knife and cutting them into thirds. (Don’t worry parent. If you think buying 80 pencils for the school year was a little much, he makes up for it in erasers. And besides, we usually still buy your kids a few pencils. It might be obsessive sharpening – I don’t know.) Finally, we added notebook paper (3 packs of it) to his paper bin. No notebooks – the little papers left over when you rip it out really annoy him. Did I mention he’s the most laid back guy I know?

        Anyway, we get home and I get a little angry with my kids teacher. I mean, this teacher’s major accomplishment of the day was to get a memory foam layer added to her husband’s bed. She wasn’t even sure where all her students’ books were (let alone pencils) since several had left the classroom yesterday with her children when she “took the day off” to take her husband to the doctor.

        After I get over it and cry on my husband’s shoulder, I take a little time to relocate all the students’ books (except for one) and all teacher’s editions (the things a mother has to do).  As I am going up to bed, Brian asks, “Do you have your pencils sharpened for tomorrow?”

        “I would have,” I said, “but I couldn’t find them.”

        “There’s a bunch of them over their on the table by the pencil sharpener.”

        He would know – Mr. I’ve Been Lying in Bed for Over Three Weeks.

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        This morning I was so excited to get up, I did a front flip first thing. I’m athletic like that you know. I was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” but I should have been voted “Most Athletic.”

        So the alarm sounds this morning, and when I reached to turn it off – I missed. I landed mostly on the back of my head with my body above me caught by the wall. I let out a little scream and hoped Brian would not race up the stairs concerned about me. I tried to figure out how to get myself out of this awkward position without screaming for help. I remind myself that I’ll be 36 next week, not 63. As I’m getting up, I’m thinking, “The kids must have moved that nightstand,” but once I’m all the way up I have to admit that everything was in the right place except for me. . .(well, and the pencils and about a thousand other things).

        Lord, my prayer to you today is that you make Brian’s back better really quick, “I really need him to man the alarm clock.”**

* I wrote this the first week of September.  Brian is doing much better. Praise God!

**We took a walk together tonight and he’s been manning the alarm clock for several weeks. I have no excuse for why my pencil cup is again. . .EMPTY. But alas, I have the weekend to gather and sharpen pencils. J

A Day to Remember

We are officially on fall break! Hallelujah!

In December of last year, a brother in the LORD asked me what my plans were for 2011. I sweetly-as-I-could  said “no big plans so far.” In my head I was thinking, “All I have planned so far is stupid doctor’s appointments.” (I can usually have more sophisticated thoughts but that wasn’t long after we lost Klarissa and I just didn’t feel like it.) He went on to talk about how his goal was to bless his kids during the year – he used the words “to make their ceiling his floor.” Maybe that phrasing is common in some circles but it was new to me.

I am so tired of doctor’s appointments. I’ll be escorting two to the doctor this week. Maybe it will be. . .fun?

So anyway, Saturday, I decided to make it a bless-the-kids day. Dad was away and I didn’t want to do anything spectacular, so we spent most of the day hanging out at the house and having some much needed downtime. It was so fun. When they came to tell me their stories, I sat and listened. (As a homeschooling mom, I can’t always do that. As much as they love school, they’d rather tell a story than do math any day or hour! LOL!)

Isaac got some time with the camera and the piano. He also found the soldering iron and finished his speaker project in the shop. He took another beautiful flower picture and I sat and marveled at the variety of his interests and wondered what plans God has for him.

I couldn’t think of any projects at home Hannah wanted to do, so we went to a yard sale with my only motive as blessing Hannah. She scored with a $1 sweater she liked that fit over her cast! I found a wall hanging, two cheap benches for my porch and a jacket for Isaac. It ended up blessing me greatly.

We then stopped and bought a mum. I got the color the girls wanted. I resisted the urge to tell them it was the color of throw-up. LOL! (I really need to work on the language in my head!) We also got some super-cheap-but-soon-to-be-frozen flowers that we planted. Now that the mums and flowers are planted, I know we got the perfect colors.

Samuel spent some time with Spinach and Zucchini, his two slithery snake friends. (Lettuce got away in the shop.) I called him to get the grasshopper that came in with my watering can, and he said, “Hi there, Mr. Grasshopper, you’re about to food for my snake.” He also hung several pictures for me, one for himself, sanded a bed for me, and sanded down a very nice walking stick. That boy is a go-getter.

Faith got to finish her apple project for school. It was originally supposed to be a wreath decorated with dehydrated apples, but she had hinted that it would be neat to make it into an edible necklace. She divided them into three necklaces so she could share J

I played a little baseball with Justin and read him a few books. At this age, I start to marvel at how much they’ve learned in just a few short years. Last week’s speech evaluation showed 53 speech errors and a very low percentile ranking. I’ve already done this long road once, and it’s a little daunting to be doing it all over again. It was nice to pause and reflect and see how far we’ve come.

Samuel made a treasure hunt and gave Justin his duck call. Justin’s been quacking with it for a few days, but now it’s officially his. He had lots of fun hiding and waiting for me to ask, “Where’s that duck? I think I hear a duck!”

And of course, there was a lot of talking and playing and laundry in between. Everyone had a good day.

When Daddy got home, we had to convince him we missed him.

Now, how to make those two doctor appointments this week feel like a blessing. . . .hmmm . . . .

How to Be An Awesome Granny

Ok – So I’ve been intending post this since JULY – which was Hannah’s birthday.  Below is a letter my mom sent me. Hannah had left notes (unbeknownst to me) all over my grandma’s kitchen while we visited. My grandmother enjoyed it so much, that my mom decided to use the same idea for a birthday surprise for Hannah. I’m so glad she did. I was very sick on Hannah’s birthday this year, but we had these hidden the night before. This isn’t the original letter. The original letter has Granny’s signature and a funny smiley face by each slip. J

*Cynda, please hide these notes around the house on Hannah’s birthday. Grandma Lola enjoyed them so much that I thought Hannah might, also. 

Hannah, you have grown to be a beautiful young lady both inside and outside!  -Granny

What are you doing? Write me sometime and tell me.  -Granny

Hannah, we are planning to come to Kentucky either in August or September. Help us think of something fun we can do together.   -Granny

Hannah, one of my favorite verses is, “Be still and know that I am God,” but I don’t know where it is found in the Bible. Do you know?   -Granny

Hannah, I like your cooking. I would really enjoy some sugar cookies right now!  -Granny

Hannah, I really like the way you do things for other people. You left Grandma Lola nice notes. You wrote Andrea a letter. -Granny

Hannah, I really like the color of your hair. Maybe you think it is just brown but it has some natural blonde highlights that just shine in the sun.  -Granny

God gave you a great mind, Hannah. I pray that you will use it and be all God wants you to be. -Granny

Hannah, I like the way you help your parents. You are especially good at helping your mother inside the house. I know that the way you listen to her teachings, you, too, will be an excellent mother and wife.

Therefore, you will be happy. That’s what I want for you.  -Granny

Hannah, tell your siblings that I love them and miss them too. I even miss your mom and dad! I feel the need to come to Kentucky.  -Granny

Hannah, I have been making bread and butter pickles, and I am tired of smelling them. What is your favorite kind of pickles?  -Granny

Hannah, I like the clothes you wear. You always look nice.

Baptism

Recently, Brian had the absolute BLESSING of baptizing THREE of our children. We did it in Arkansas at my in-laws beautiful pond. We really missed our Kentucky brothers and sisters in the Lord. BUT, I know I’d love to have the pleasure of seeing my great-grandchildren baptized. They had three great-grandmas, two grandmas, two grandpas, and a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins attending.

Grandma tries to stay out of the sun. I guess to keep that youthful look.

Brian's Dad's mother above.

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Hannah

Samuel

Faith

Grandma Diane

O Happy Day (Grandma Elkins)



Gal 3:26-27
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Hallelujah!

Hannah Is All Set Up for the School Year

WARNING BEFORE YOU READ: I may sound like a sales lady ;-)

Hannah Is All Set Up for the School Year!

Here’s what we’ve got –

Reading – My original BJU love! I love that Reading also includes subjects like Vocabulary, Dictionary Skills, Library Skills, & Map Reading. Reading selections meet my conservative standards and still qualify as good literature (Twain, Dickens, Browning, etc). Questions are asked on four different levels – critical thinking included. Only TWO Required Books to keep up with! The workbook tells plainly at the bottom of the page the lesson page and the corresponding reading text. Though it isn’t written to be used this way, I will teach the skill station days and a few of my favorite stories and let her work through the rest independently. She’s been asking for this Reading program.  Reading is one of her favorite things to do, so she’ll be raiding the library as well.

English – My 2^nd BJU Love. This will be Hannah’s 3^rd year to do BJU English. Each chapter is also organized around a theme – sort of like a mini unit study. That’s Hannah’s favorite part about it. She says she learns so much more than just English. I love the writing. Two weeks of grammar and two weeks of writing J. That means I don’t keep skipping the writing until the end of the year. She’ll be doing a personal narrative, a newspaper editorial, instructions a research report, historical fiction, a compare-contrast essay, a poem, and a cover letter. It sounds worse than it is. It is broken down into bite-size chunks, and Mrs. Overly will be explaining it all to her. I’m hoping we can make at least some of these assignments fit a scrapbook I want to make about all of her grandmothers. I’ll also be checking her work and answering her questions since Mrs. Overly doesn’t do that very well ;-).

Spelling – This will be Hannah’s 2^nd year to do BJU Spelling. Mrs. Liston will be teaching her. She has a passport ready to stamp as she learns to spell over 100 countries  along with many more words. She’ll be learning tidbits about the countries as she goes along. She’ll have a journal entry every week written for me to read, and I’ll write her back each week. Since she loves letter writing, I think this will be a nice personal touch to our school week. Also included is sentence dictation (an important listening and writing skill) and King’s English which describes not only the etymology but often a Biblical principal as well.

Heritage Studies – We’ll be studying the 20^th century. I read long ago that this is often the most neglected yet, most pertinent part of history. We’ll be making a century book. Each page will have the year printed and we’ll cut/paste/print some pictures to go with it. Samuel and Faith will be joining Hannah for this study. Some Grandma interviews will fit in here nicely too since most of them lived quite a few years in this century.  Mrs. Walker will be helping me with teaching this course. We’ve had Mrs. Walker before, and we absolutely love her.

Science – Mrs. Vick will be helping us with Science. Hooray for Mrs. Vick. I think this will be Hannah’s most challenging course. It includes all branches of science. It includes a lot of activities and observations, but it is so very organized that I don’t think it will be overwhelming. I really wanted to combine siblings in this, but it’s just too challenging for that. I’ll be teaching Science 4 to the youngers.

Math – Ok. Yes, we love teaching textbooks. Hannah made it through almost two levels last year, BUT our test scores came and found us lacking even though we supplemented it. This year- we’re using BJU and considering Teaching Textbooks the supplement. May the Lord reward her extra effort J

Handwriting – Sweet, Sweet Mrs. Cox. Hannah really wanted to have at least one course with her. This course doesn’t run all year, so she’ll also have time for typing. In addition to cursive, Hannah will learn Calligraphy through this course.  The course them is careers, so she’ll be exposed to a few more things than what’s available in rural Kentucky.

Bible – Mrs. Cox teaches Bible too. Hannah will be memorizing several passages of scripture and creating a timeline. A KJV Bible is her textbook. (That should make her smarter ;-).)

What Else – music and art are largely included – but I’ll schedule a little music theory. Art will be a little digital scrapbooking and the calligraphy. Digital Scrapbooking will be a book of our Grandma’s which fits nicely with the last century which we’re studying for history. I’ll probably dig out Drawing Textbook and assign a few of those lessons. She has some online Horse lessons twice a week as well. For homemaking, she’s the main breakfast cook and she’ll also be making the list for breakfast.

I love the beginning of the year with all the freshness and expectation J.

Imagine a Flower

Pictures & Lyrics by Isaac

Imagine a flower. It knows it’s time to bloom, but it says

"I wanna wait until - I’m a little bigger - a little stronger

I don’t think I’m ready - surely there will be another freeze soon."

Sounds sensible- until you realize this- it blooms right before winter

Oh, isn’t this what we’re doing,  waiting on the rain of blessing when

It’s supposed to go the other way

Oh, why do to we love luke-warmness- he’s about to spit us out

So go act-the rain’s ready to fall

This really ministered to a Mama's heart today. Be blessed and enjoy spring. Let's serve God with everything we've got in our youth. None of us are getting any younger.   -Cynda